Tuesday, July 14, 2015
Fitness progress
I feel good tonight. I was able to complete 2 very difficult hills in one walk, when I have always had trouble finishing either one before. It was pretty exciting for me to beat the first one tonight, and still be feeling good. As I continued my walk, I wanted to see how far I could get. The next thing I knew, I was walking down hill #2 ( the tougher one) with a slight bit of trepidation, knowing I was going to have to push harder for this one. I think my new fitness attitude has helped quite a bit. I just said, "Let's see how far I get." I was a little surprised when the top of the hill came before I had to stop, and very happy. A very motivational moment for me, all in all.
Conservative Simplism
It seems that many current conservative ideals rely more or less on simplism. I think this has less to do with the idea that the issues are too complex for your average citizen to follow, and much more to do with the fact that many conservative policies, in fact, are not in the interests of the majority of the American citizenry. By reducing the issues to the bare bones, it is easier to ignore the outcomes dictated by their ideal policies.
Conservatives would have us believe that they actually believe "trickle-down economics" is a rational idea. I look at the level of education of many of that theory's proponents, and find it ridiculous. If we look at the evidence, the result of years of economic policies that reduced taxes on the wealthiest Americans, we see that they are, indeed, better off. Now I don't have a problem with that one point, by itself. However, every other part of the American economy has grown less wealthy.
These policies have proved that they are decidedly against the interests of even many above average workers. If these measures were to result in better conditions for the majority of Americans, I , for one, say it is time to throw in the towel, and declare failure.
I am going to make this more a "thread" than a one time post. Lots to cover here, including the ongoing burial of real journalism. Just one aspect of that is the way many advertisements are now positioned on "news feeds" as news stories. It is called "native advertising". I had, apparently falsely, assumed that the internet would lead to better journalism. It seems not to be the case. As in the case of music piracy, it has led to a decline in the ability of true practitioners to support themselves. Print journalism was already reeling from the massive influence of television before cable news, much less the pathetically substandard internet "journalism".
Conservatives would have us believe that they actually believe "trickle-down economics" is a rational idea. I look at the level of education of many of that theory's proponents, and find it ridiculous. If we look at the evidence, the result of years of economic policies that reduced taxes on the wealthiest Americans, we see that they are, indeed, better off. Now I don't have a problem with that one point, by itself. However, every other part of the American economy has grown less wealthy.
These policies have proved that they are decidedly against the interests of even many above average workers. If these measures were to result in better conditions for the majority of Americans, I , for one, say it is time to throw in the towel, and declare failure.
I am going to make this more a "thread" than a one time post. Lots to cover here, including the ongoing burial of real journalism. Just one aspect of that is the way many advertisements are now positioned on "news feeds" as news stories. It is called "native advertising". I had, apparently falsely, assumed that the internet would lead to better journalism. It seems not to be the case. As in the case of music piracy, it has led to a decline in the ability of true practitioners to support themselves. Print journalism was already reeling from the massive influence of television before cable news, much less the pathetically substandard internet "journalism".
Labels: conservative simplism, economic inequality, economic justice, obfuscation, trickle down
Thursday, June 11, 2015
Fighting TPP etc.
It's quite obvious now. Our government, (and you can insert the government of your choice here, AFAICT) has been bought and paid for by the corporate beasts who have replaced our local business concerns. There is only one hope to defeat the corporatist mindset now. Found or join local groups that promote local businesses and farms. International corporations are not capable of providing real solutions to the problems the world's economies are facing. What they are very good at is providing a ton of money to lobbyists to control their industries through legislation that not only discourages real competition, but many times directly outlaws it.
The real problems are, in case you are wondering how I am defining them:
My proposed solutions to these problems aren't really all that radical. The measures we can take are limited by our real economic means. We, as individuals, do not possess the means to fight back against the corporate publicity machines. We do not possess the resources to lobby against these huge corporate Godzillas with our politicians. The only way we CAN fight back is by organizing. And the only way we will be able to organize, is by defining exactly what it is that we are fighting for.
I refuse to be separated from my fellows by divisive politics any further. Abortion is an important issue to many people. It isn't the most important issue facing us at this moment, though. Religion is important, too. Right now, freedom of religion still exists, so, again, it isn't one of the most critical issues facing us. We need to get together, and decide what is too important to leave up to anybody else. Representative democracy seemed to work so well for so long without most people paying much attention that we seem to have forgotten that our votes can count.
I would implore our journalists to get back to reporting real news. With a real commitment to informing the masses. Hit the issues that we NEED to care about, not which K family member is wearing a new bikini on the beaches of the Riviera.
We have witnessed an unprecedented loss of real earning power in this country. We need to look at every law that has been passed, and ask who benefited? We need to look at every regulation, asking the same question. We need to make regulations that are self-enforcing as possible, and provide the means as needed. Without real enforcement, regulation is so much wind in the trees.
We need to quit shipping jobs overseas, while realizing that, in the long run, the better off our fellows around the world are, the better for everyone. Truly sustainable economies need to rely on local production where it is prudent, only transporting goods that are needed. Luxury is a necessity, at least a certain amount, anyway. Just don't let it get out of control.
Enough of ranting for today. Comments are open and welcomed, although I will be editing any that get too nasty. I want to start a discussion, not a troll fire.
The real problems are, in case you are wondering how I am defining them:
- blatantly high real unemployment
- escalating concentration of wealth and income to the rich
- continued and escalating degradation of public infrastructure
- denial of real educational opportunity through false flag private school vouchers
- escalating division of common people, especially low wage earners
- increased reliance on automation vs employing people
My proposed solutions to these problems aren't really all that radical. The measures we can take are limited by our real economic means. We, as individuals, do not possess the means to fight back against the corporate publicity machines. We do not possess the resources to lobby against these huge corporate Godzillas with our politicians. The only way we CAN fight back is by organizing. And the only way we will be able to organize, is by defining exactly what it is that we are fighting for.
I refuse to be separated from my fellows by divisive politics any further. Abortion is an important issue to many people. It isn't the most important issue facing us at this moment, though. Religion is important, too. Right now, freedom of religion still exists, so, again, it isn't one of the most critical issues facing us. We need to get together, and decide what is too important to leave up to anybody else. Representative democracy seemed to work so well for so long without most people paying much attention that we seem to have forgotten that our votes can count.
I would implore our journalists to get back to reporting real news. With a real commitment to informing the masses. Hit the issues that we NEED to care about, not which K family member is wearing a new bikini on the beaches of the Riviera.
We have witnessed an unprecedented loss of real earning power in this country. We need to look at every law that has been passed, and ask who benefited? We need to look at every regulation, asking the same question. We need to make regulations that are self-enforcing as possible, and provide the means as needed. Without real enforcement, regulation is so much wind in the trees.
We need to quit shipping jobs overseas, while realizing that, in the long run, the better off our fellows around the world are, the better for everyone. Truly sustainable economies need to rely on local production where it is prudent, only transporting goods that are needed. Luxury is a necessity, at least a certain amount, anyway. Just don't let it get out of control.
Enough of ranting for today. Comments are open and welcomed, although I will be editing any that get too nasty. I want to start a discussion, not a troll fire.
